Beth Mead and Ellen White led a second-half resurgence by England Women as Phil Neville’s side came back from behind to open their SheBelieves Cup campaign with a victory against Brazil.

The Latin Americans took a deserved lead from the penalty spot after a quarter of an hour, albeit in dubious circumstances, with Lucy Bronze penalised for what appeared to be a well-timed tackle.

Birmingham City’s White provided the perfect start to the second half to kick-start the turnaround with a goal from her only significant chance of the game, which she made look easy when it came.

By full-time in Philadelphia, the Lionesses had restored the expected order thanks to a brilliant strike by Arsenal youngster Mead, catching the goalkeeper off guard and bending it in from the right.

England will now travel to Nashville to play World Cup holders USA on Saturday night, with kick-off at 9.30pm UK time, and then to Tampa to play Japan. But what have they already learned?

1. England’s mixed midfield

Beth Mead of England (R) celebrates (Image: Getty Images)

Dictating the tempo was always going to be the key to this game, but in the first half, England struggled to cope with the Brazilian high press and simply couldn’t clear their lines.

Missing the injured Jordan Nobbs and Jill Scott, they lacked an anchor in midfield to drive them up the pitch – if they had fallen any deeper, they would basically have been Will Young.

And yet, the second half, as is so often the case, was a completely different story.

The Lionesses learned to take fewer touches, move the ball quicker and wrench it out wider, exposing what proved a permeable opposition defence. More of this please…

2. All White on the night

Nikita Parris of England is tackled (Image: Getty Images)

Despite only making an impact for about two seconds of the match, White showed why she is England’s top scorer in the SheBelieves Cup and deserves to lead the line for her country.

The 29-year-old striker turned the game on its head with her equaliser, reading the weight of Kirby’s through ball and seizing on her only proper opportunity immediately after the break.

Her goal marked a magnificent return to form after injury issues earlier in the season.

3. Controversial penalty call

Hickmann Alves and Alves Da Silva (Image: Getty Images)

The decision to award Brazil an opportunity from the spot defined the first half and England took until after the break to recover from the shock of going a goal down.

Alves made no mistake with a vicious strike in the 16 minute but should it have been given?

Perhaps Marta’s reputation served her well, and perhaps Bronze careering into her calves straight after a sensational piece of skill by the Brazilian wasn’t a good look, but ultimately the penalty shouldn’t have stood: it was a finely timed challenge by the Lyon full-back.

4. Brazil are still full of flair

Leal Da Silva of Brazil (Image: Getty Images)

The Samba Stars may be the lowest ranked participants but they still have the pedigree of a side who were runners-up at the 2007 World Cup – and a surprising number of the same players.

They played to their strengths, passing the ball efficiently through midfield to their star strikers.

Though their frontline is ageing, not least the evergreen Formiga (who turns 41 on Sunday), they can clearly deliver on their day and hurt a team like England when they win the ball high up the pitch.

5. Telford – number one?

Carly Telford and Rachel Daly (Image: Getty Images)

Unusually, none of the three goalkeepers in the squad are even the clear-cut first choice at their clubs, let alone within the national set-up, so this competition is an important test of the stoppers.

Neville decided to give Carly Telford the nod on Wednesday night and the veteran revealed she was more than capable of holding her own against one of the globe’s most gifted forward lines.

She did plenty to prove her ability with her feet, looking natural playing out from the back.